IGTV: The Rise of Square AV Content

With the boom of Instagram the demand and generation of digital content has increased considerably, and much of the content that ends up on the platform achieves good results - if you know how to make a solid creative campaign. This content must have its own personality to live on Instagram and be effective. 

The limitations of Instagram (such as the duration of the videos, image and audio quality) were undoubtedly factors that held the platform back from competing with the likes of YouTube and Facebook. And with the arrival of IGTV, generating content for a specific brand will require a more versatile character within the same platform.

I think one of the consequences we'll see is a strong emigration of YouTubers to IGTV. This migration will also have a lot to do with the monetisation model developed by IGTV, which I'm sure will be quite successful (as has been the case with Instagram).

Pages of original content that are already migrating to IGTV do not replicate their content for different platforms, but they already work with vertical video formats which is one of the factors that Instagram has developed as part of its own identity. This is very interesting and should make us think about the diversification and possibilities offered by each platform - and to not generate a single piece of content for all platforms.

Recently we were requested at KIDS to generate 'Instagram-style' video content for a fashion brand. We produced in vertical video format but with a longer duration, and it was uploaded to other platforms. But seeing it on other platforms that were not Instagram felt out of place and lacking in personality.

IGTV users are utilising the platform despite the audio and lighting issues that come with recording from a smartphone. It is in this space where brands and agencies can win and generate a deep impact - in fact it is already happening. Streaming live concerts (with a bit more care put into audio and lighting), the production of mini documentaries, classes and tutorials in a studio, interviews using several cameras... these are just some of the many formats that are already finding a place on this new platform, and I do not doubt that a wider variety of formats will be generated.

With the arrival of IGTV I believe that a large part of content marketing for mobile devices will be absorbed by this platform and I dare to think that in the future, when it diversifies and works on computers too, it will become the greatest platform for the coexistence and exposure of AV content.

When the aspect radio changed from the 4:3 to 16:9 it was a big event, which did not take long to spread and become the 'official format' (horizontal). With the arrival of IGTV the square no longer sounds so obsolete. On the contrary, it feels modern, and the people who are dedicated to audiovisual production will have to adapt to live in this new world of verticality.

David Paez is general content director at KIDS